All About Online Bingo
A thoroughly modern version of a lottery-style game that has been hugely popular for the better part of a century, online Bingo has so much to offer players. The online version is just as exciting and entertaining as its land-based counterpart, it is always available, and almost no effort is required to play it.
What’s more, like the land-based version, Bingo online is available in different formats, and playing them can even be a social experience. Keep reading and find out what you need to know about the classic game.
Brief History Of Bingo
The ancestor of online Bingo was a game that was popular in Italy in the 1500s. Called Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia, it was similar to today’s lotteries. The game spread from Italy to France, and, later, to Germany. It eventually reached Britain in the 1700s.
Although the gameplay was similar to today’s Bingo games, it wasn’t known by that name at the time. Hugh J. Ward introduced the modern American-style gameplay, as well as the name ‘Bingo’, at fairs, carnivals, and other events during the 1920s. 1942, another American by the name of Erwin S. Lowe received the patent for the design of the cards. Online versions of the game were introduced during the late 1990s.
Gameplay At A Glance
Each version of online Bingo has unique elements, but the basic gameplay is the same for all versions. Before the game starts, you can choose one or more tickets to play.
When you select the play button, the Random Number Generator (RNG) software will start producing results. If numbers on your ticket match the results, the autodab software will mark them as they are called. If lines or a pattern on your ticket is completed, you win a payout. In land-based versions of the game, players use dabbing pens to mark the tickets themselves. The first person to complete a pattern shouts, “Bingo!” to announce that they’ve won.
Different Bingo Games
In the UK, the 90-ball version of Bingo is the most popular, while in the USA, it is the 75-ball version that most players know and love. Both of these are available online, as are a selection of other versions.
Known as Speed Bingo, a 30-ball version uses tickets with a 3×3 grid. Each square features a number, and the games tend to be super-fast.
The 75-ball version of the game uses tickets with a 5×5 grid. Every square except the one in the centre features a number. Each game offers a single prize, which goes to the first player to complete a column, row, or diagonal line.
90-ball online Bingo uses tickets with 3×9 grids. 5 squares in each of the 3 rows feature numbers from the range between 1 and 90. The remaining squares are blank. If you play 90-ball games, you stand chances to win line prizes or the main prize. You can win line prizes with combinations including four corners, a horizontal line of 5 numbers, and by covering any 2 lines on 1 ticket. Dabbing all 15 numbers on a ticket wins the main prize.